Many activities in daily life require forward shoulder/forward head posture. Forward shoulder/forward head posture is or corresponds to the reversal of the normal spine curves. When normal spine curves are reversed for an extended period of time, for whatever reason, there may be consequences. One consequence is the eventual posture often associated with aging.
Nerve injury and the subsequent formation of neural scar tissue is prevalent among weight lifters, wrestlers, long distance bicycle riders and motorcycle riders, heavy equipment operators, especially pile drivers, and jobs requiring repetitive movement. The golf swing and tennis swing are also examples of repetitive motions that can injure a nerve. Nerve injuries generally do not respond to standard treatment such as ice and standard stretches. In fact, such standard treatments can actually worsen or exacerbate nerve injuries.
Upper Limb Tension Tests, which also may be referred to as Brachial Plexus Tension Tests or the Elvey Test are tension tests administered by a physical therapist to treat neurological structures and nerve injuries. Typically, the physical therapist administers the tension test with the user in a supine position. The therapist manipulates the user's arm to isolate, stretch and mobilize the injured nerves. These movements, however, are difficult to replicate without the aid of a physical therapist.
Typical stretching and other conventional physical therapy treatments may not alleviate pain caused by damage or injury to the lower peripheral nervous system. For example, some pain in the lower extremities, including knee and heel pain may not respond to other treatments.
Loss of hip extension (e.g., ability to move the leg backwards that frequently is accompanied, in more severe cases, by pain with initial rising from a chair or in the morning on initial standing) is a significant contributor to loss of movement in rotation of the body. Without hip extension, the rotation of the body is limited. Typically the affected person will do stretches in an attempt to regain lost movement. Stretches, however, are incapable of treating the source of the pain, if the pain is caused by a neural injury.
Often treatment focuses on treating an individual's muscles and joints without considering the impact of injury to the individual's nervous system.